Similar to running a business, administering an extracurricular department can be difficult. School activities such as journalism classes or sports clubs require extra oversight and funding to make sure everything runs smoothly. The music department is no exception, which is why the Walnut Hills Instrumentalists’ Parents (WHIP) was created.
“Any parents who have a student in any music area in Walnut (choir, any of the bands, or orchestra) are welcome to be a part of it,” Betsy Jo Wesley, the co-president of WHIP, said.
WHIP’s goal is to help the music department in any way possible, mainly by providing funds through fundraisers and donations. Some of their yearly fundraisers are their cookie dough and butter braid fundraisers, where music students compete to sell the most items. WHIP also has ongoing rewards programs with organizations such as Kroger and Amazon that anyone can sign up for. Once signed up, a portion of a person’s spending will be donated to WHIP.
“Another big [source of revenue] is our patron donor[s], [who are] basically anybody who donates more than fifty dollars towards WHIP,” Wesley said. “That’s a big source of our income and we try to recognize those givers in the programs when there [are] concerts and things like that.”
All these funds are then used to provide extra resources to the different music courses.
“We just try to get income from all different sources and then we try to support the programs through buying sheet music, hiring accompanists, sometimes supporting kids who need to buy the right concert attire or rent instruments, paying for competition fees, or [providing] any supplies or resources that the teachers need extra of on top of what they are already allocated,” Wesley said.
Along with helping provide additional supplies, the money from WHIP’s fundraisers also goes toward bringing in musicians to perform at WHHS.
“That’s another thing that the money we raise goes towards, bringing in guest artists to just give the students that exposure to let them see if they really commit to their instruments, what’s possible,” Wesley said.
Wesley first joined WHIP two years ago when her daughter was a seventh grader. As co-president, her role is to manage the board’s meetings and communicate with the music departments about their upcoming events and needs.
“My main job is to create the agenda for our general meetings and help lead those,” Wesley said. “[I also talk with] each department: choir, orchestra, and band. They share an update every month in our meetings, and we listen to them and see how we can come alongside them and support them for that month, what’s coming up, [and] what they need.”
Currently, WHIP is in need of a larger parent base. The organization has come up with many plans but struggles to implement them due to a lack of volunteers. To remedy this, the group wants to attract more attention online through social media.
“We just don’t have enough volunteers to pull from currently to help us with that, so I think the more parents can know what it is we actually do and what we’re trying to do to help the programs, maybe they would want to get involved a little bit more,” Wesley said.
One of the reasons it has been difficult for WHIP to grow its parent base is because parents often don’t realize the amount of time their children spend practicing their instruments.
“A lot of parents see [music programs] as just a fine arts credit rather than boosters or something where their kid is fully involved in that sport… [but] I know some students, between playing their ensemble every week in class, and private lessons, and practicing and outside ensembles, they can spend 15-20 hours a week playing their instruments,” Wesley said.
WHIP aims to help others recognize the amount of work these kids put into playing their instruments. This backing, along with WHIP’s financial support, has helped grow the music department and its students into the positive environment it is today.
“That’s one of the reasons I got involved, just to help support these kids, help support the directors, and just let them be recognized for their hard work because they really do put in a lot,” Wesley said.